RE: THE CLUBS AND BANDS OF BIRMINGHAM. SHARE YOUR MEMORIES WITH US HERE

#61 by phil ( deleted ) , Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:45 am

SB

As I think I have said before, there must have been more reason than that. There were probably objections raised to the lease being renewed. I don't think anybody moved in there after Mothers closed down did they? I know when we cleared it out after the fire the stage and the dance floor were still there. If anybody else had moved in surely they would have had those removed?

Phil

#62 by signman ( deleted ) , Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:56 am

Am I the only one that had never heard of Mothers until Graham started this thread,maybe because I never ever went to Erdington only in latter
years to go to the Country music club upstairs in the Roebuck.

#63 by phil ( deleted ) , Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:20 am

John

It's probably for the same reason why I had never used the place or heard much about it. When it opened in 1968 our night clubbing days were nearly over plus the fact Erdington is a little off the beaten track for those who hardly ever strayed from the centre of the city.

Phil

#64 by Sheldonboy , Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:41 pm

Posted by phil
SB

As I think I have said before, there must have been more reason than that. There were probably objections raised to the lease being renewed. I don't think anybody moved in there after Mothers closed down did they? I know when we cleared it out after the fire the stage and the dance floor were still there. If anybody else had moved in surely they would have had those removed?

Phil

Phil the reasons that were given at the time was that the lease had run out and the furniture shop wanted the space for storage. I understand from talking to one of the owners years later that there was some disagreements between them, but this is unsubstantiated.

#65 by phil ( deleted ) , Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:12 pm

SB

That may have been the reasons given at the time, but I would have thought that there would be more to it than that. If I had a success story on my hands as the club seemed to be then I would have paid whatever it cost to keep it running. The costs could have been passed on to the customers via a rise in the entrance fee and the cost of drinks.

Phil

#66 by Sheldonboy , Sun Mar 04, 2012 9:38 am

As only a cutomer I obviously wasn't party to the politcs of running the club, but I have heard in later years from one of the owners that there were other problems too.

#67 by phil ( deleted ) , Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:46 am

It might have been problems with the local plod over noise levels, alcohol sales and drug issues. The renewal of the licence might have been an issue as I would have thought some of the big club owners that were starting to make a name for themselves at the time in Birmingham would have jumped at taking over the club.

Phil

#68 by Sheldonboy , Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:28 pm

We'll probably never know Phil 40 years on these characters are long gone I would think.

#69 by phil ( deleted ) , Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:04 pm

SB

Someone from Mothers who had something to do with running the place said the other day on the BF that the main reasons it closed down was a wrangle over the finances of a new lease plus the fact that the club was hemorrhaging money and even with bands performing at 50% of their normal costs they still couldn't make it pay. It's as I said the bigger venues offering bigger money ruined things for everybody.

Here is a cutting from last nights mail that I scanned.

Phil

#70 by Sheldonboy , Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:53 pm

Thanks Phil, The story of Mothers rolls on. 40 years on and still talked about in the press.

#71 by astoness , Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:23 pm

SB you may want to go to this if you're not busy this Saturday...

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on...ts-blue-4925263

#72 by The Mitz , Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:12 pm

Spent a lot of time in Birmingham clubs in the 70's.

Barbarellas, The Rum Runner, Opposite Lock, Railway Curzon Street, Dolce Vita .... my favourite was always Barbarellas, I even proposed to my wife in there!
There was also a disco club in the downstairs of the hotel behind Alpha Tower at the bottom of Broad Street.

Anyone remember Steelys off New Street? A downstairs cellar club, very dark and atmospheric. Bogarts on New Street was a great place back in the 70's and had a lot of live bands, with the beer kellar as well on the downstairs floor.

#73 by Sheldonboy , Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:12 pm

I knew La Dolce Vita well as I worked at The Albany Hotel across the road. The Railway Curzon Street was a pub though not a club, we sometimes went there to see Spitfire on a Friday night. Spitfire had a terrific guitarist called Roger Hill, sadly he died quite recently. I never knew Steely's but I knew Bogarts very well. An old mate of mine was a resident DJ there John Warwick, he went to work for the BBC a really good guy we lost touch unfortunately. Yes the Beer Keller was very good. Remember the other one too. The Dortmunder Beer Keller in Needless alley.
Possibly my favourite night club in it's day was The Club Cedar in Constitution Hill.

#74 by The Mitz , Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:35 am

I think John Warwick is on the Bogarts Facebook Page
Yes, The Railway was a pub with a room for bands, but it had a good reputation. There was a band called Speed Limit I used to see, I think they were a regular act. Small room, very loud

#75 by Voltman , Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:20 am

I used to sit in the corner with my head in a speaker.

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RE: THE CLUBS AND BANDS OF BIRMINGHAM. SHARE YOUR MEMORIES WITH US HERE - 5